Our RV Adventures

Tonight was Jan’s Bingo so we didn’t get home until about 11:30pm, and we’ve got to get up early for 8am Doctor’s appointments, so here’s a repost of our visit to Hollywood and Warner Bros. Studio in 2010.

Enjoy.

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Warner Bros. and Baja…

Originally posted on April 15, 2010

We left for Hollywood and our Warner Bros.Studio Tour about 9 am, about 3 hours before our tour was to start. And I’m glad we did.

I figured it would take us about an hour and 15 minutes to get there and that would give us plenty of time to walk around and then eat lunch before our 12:00 noon tour.

But we hit a lot of traffic after we left the freeway, so it took us almost two hours to get there, get parked, and get checked in. That left us an hour to find a place to eat.

One of the problems with the traffic turned out to be the fact that Hollywood Blvd. was shut down on the block in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. At first we thought they were filming a movie due to all the production trucks It turned out to be a promotion for the upcoming Long Beach Grand Prix.

Looking around we decided to try Baja Fresh Mexican Grill right across the street. We’d seen the restaurants around but never tried one, so this seemed like a good chance. According to their ads, everything is fresh. They don’t even have a can opener.

Lunch was very good. Jan had a two taco plate and I had a bowl of chicken tortilla soup and a pork nacho burrito.

Walking back across the street to Grauman’s we looked over the footprints in the courtyard. Here’s one for Roy Rogers and Trigger.

We were supposed to leave on our tour at noon, but didn’t get picked up until about 12:30. The bus drove us over to the Warner Bros. studio to actually begin our tour.

The first thing we saw was the iconic Warner Bros. water tower.

It’s no longer a real water tower. It’s really just a sign now.

The first part of the tour took us thru some of the many backlot sets.

And here is a backlot used in the TV show ER.

It shows the EL train trestle and the ambulance entrance to the hospital.

Unfortunately, for much of the really neat stuff we were not allowed to take pictures.

We visited the set of one our favorite shows, “Two and a Half Men”, which is on hiatus. It was interesting to see how different the sets look when you’re setting in the audience instead of watching on TV.

Next we watched an outdoor shot being filmed for a new TV show called “Pretty Little Liars” This is a pilot show developed from a series of young adult books.

Then we visited a car museum showing cars from movies and TV shows filmed at Warner Bros.

Here the Sunbeam Tiger used in the recent “Get Smart” movie

Here’s one version of the Batmobile.

And here’s another.

And here’s a scene showing the car from “Harry Potter”.

Next we saw the General Lee from the “Dukes of Hazzard” TV show. During the show’s run, they went through 257 of these.

In the General Lee pic above, notice the green screen in the upper right. They used this to show us how they can insert something into a scene that’s not really there.

They photographed us in front of the screen and then put a movie scene in with us.

The last thing we saw was the complete “Central Perk” coffee house set from “Friends”, using all the original furniture and props.

We really enjoyed this behind-the-scenes type of tour. We had done one of the special effects tours at Disney World last year that showed all the stunts and tricks, so it was nice to see something different.

By 4 pm we were on our way home. Heading out this late I was worried about going-home traffic, but it wasn’t too bad. We were home by 5:30 and in from the night.

More tomorrow…

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Thought for the Day:

Politicians are like bananas – they start out green, turn yellow, then rot.

kjhkhk

The Latest Landon Pics!

He’s really proud of his new hat.

This morning started early. Instead of just getting up about 10, I was up, coffeed, and out the door by then.

I had spent the weekend cleaning up a mailing list and printing out thousands  of labels so my client could get them on the flyers and out the door by this coming Wednesday.

I also wanted to get back on updating and moving his UPS shipping program to a new computer.

But this was not to be. Exporting the database out to a file was no problem, but when I went to install the new 2012 version of the UPS Shipping program, I found out the 450 MB file I had spent an hour downloading a week ago, was glitched and would not execute. Bummer!

Don’t know what the problem was, because it seemed to download OK.

I think I’ll go over to another client’s office tomorrow and re-download it there. They’ve got a 6 Mbps line while this client only has a 1.5 Mbps one.

I’ve also got a new computer to install in the graphics department where they do the paper catalogs. But I have to wait for the lady to pull everything she wants to keep off the old one.

During this time I was also on the phone with RV Mobile Lube setting up an appointment for a tech to come out next Wednesday and service our rig. They were last here two years ago, and it’s about that time again.

They handle rigs in the Houston, Dallas, and Texas Hill Country area, and come to your site in a big step van and change your engine oil, transmission oil, and all filters, and hit any chassis lube points. And they do the same for your Onan generator.

I had them used the Transynd synthetic transmission fluid last time and will do it again. Although it adds about $170 to the cost, after it’s done twice, it reinstates some of Allison’s warranty coverage, and I won’t have to have it serviced again for 75,000 miles, about 8 years for us.

Another nice thing is that they keep your service records online so you can keep track of your service intervals. (You can click this shot to enlarge it.)

They should be here about 8 am, and based on last time, it takes a couple of hours.

I got back to the rig about 5pm, and then Jan and I headed up to Seabrook to have dinner at the Hooter’s there. It was time for our hot wing fix and this is the place for it.

But, on a more disturbing note, I’m afraid Hooter’s may be going upscale. They now have a podium just inside the entrance, and one of the young ladies seats you at your table and gives you the menus. What are things coming to?

I don’t know about you, but upscale service is NOT what I come to Hooter’s for!

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Thought for the Day;

It said "Insert CD 3…" but only 2 will fit in the drive. What do I do now?

asdfd